1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention pertains to mast seals and, more particularly, to a mast boot for preventing leakage around a mast positioned in an opening in the deck of a sailboat.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
Sailboats utilizing keel stepped masts typically employ a deck having an opening therein through which the mast extends for securement to the keel of the boat. A collar is usually mounted in the deck opening and includes a flange angularly disposed with the deck surface for rigging attachment via holes in the flange and an upstanding rim disposed in spaced parallel relation with the mast to permit movement of the mast within the collar. Water around the mast can leak through the deck opening between the collar rim and the mast into below deck areas. Therefore, the below deck areas must be regularly inspected for water leakage and any detected water promptly removed to avoid water damage and corrosion. Consequently, keel stepped masts are associated with increased maintenance and inconvenience, as well as potential costs for water damage repair, and such disadvantages detract from the benefits of increased strength obtained with keel stepped masts.
Various seals have been proposed for preventing leakage of water through the deck opening around keel stepped masts, and an illustrative seal is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,588 to Hillman. Conventional seals generally include specialized rigid collars for receiving the mast, in conjunction with wedges, sealing compounds or the like for insertion between the collar and the mast to provide a seal therebetween. The collars must be particularly sized to accommodate the mast, and a single collar cannot be used on the diverse mast sizes presently available on sailboats. Furthermore, the collars typically include a flange that is secured to the deck by a multitude of bolts mounted in holes drilled through the deck, and these flanges must be particularly shaped to match the applicable deck configuration. Therefore, seals relying on rigid collars generally require customized fabrication and machining, and such seals can be prohibitively expensive. Moreover, the numerous holes that must be drilled in the deck to secure the flange of the collars thereon present additional areas of potential leakage and impairs the structural integrity of the deck in sustaining forces from the mast. In decks fabricated of balsa core, the holes can be especially problematic because water penetrating the deck around the bolts can creep through the deck layers and structurally weaken the deck in the vicinity of the mast. Another deficiency associated with conventional seals is that the seals are primarily limited to installation on boats under construction because the under deck configuration on most existing sailboats is not designed to accommodate the bolts necessary for securing the collar flange to the deck. Many under deck configurations have bulkheads, wiring, hydraulic lines and the like situated near the mast, and conventional seals cannot be easily installed on such decks without complex, labor intensive disassembly and retro-fitting of existing components. Moreover, when wedges are inserted between the collar and the mast, the wedges must be secured to the collar by bolts or other securing devices, and installation of conventional seals is even further complicated. Sealing compounds inserted between the collar and the mast tend to degrade over time under flexing movement of the mast and with exposure to environmental elements, thereby compromising conventional seals. Removal of conventional seals is also extremely difficult due to the necessity of removing the wedges and/or sealing compound, as well as the collar, and the seals do not permit routine inspection of the mast/deck joint.